


Legacy

by BellaP



Category: I Am Number Four (2011)
Genre: Adventure, Angst, Canon - Movie, Drama, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-11
Updated: 2012-09-08
Packaged: 2017-11-11 22:15:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/483449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BellaP/pseuds/BellaP
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam knew that it was temporary, but he never thought it would end like this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: "I am number Four" series belongs to Pittacus Lore.  
> AN: English is not my first language and I confess that I used google translator on most part of it as help. So, sorry in advancement.

Sam knew it was temporary. Every touch, every breath, every sensation radiating from Sam’s body because of him. He knew it was temporary because he was not the Lorien's chosen one. Sarah was. Sarah with her beautiful blond hair, doll face, big blue eyes, and full red lips. Sarah with her smooth curves and porcelain skin. The Sarah they had left behind in Paradise for safety. The same Sarah whose name was being whispered into his ear while John imagined he was touching her when he was actually touching Sam.

Sam knew it was temporary because he was the outlet. John's mind and heart were with Sarah, always with the woman he left behind, even though the body he used to satisfy his carnal desires, to release his frustrations, to unload his adrenaline after a battle, was the young Goode's. And when the blond above him reached his orgasm with a final jerk, Sam had to swallow a sigh of relief. In the beginning it was good, it was very good, because his heart was still detached from this. At first it was just two friends using each other for distraction.

But then the game started to get dangerous. Sam's heart began to tell him that this mattered, and when he realized this, it was too late. He was involved in this distorted relationship, in a way that he had never wanted, and it was too late to turn back. John pulled out of him, rolled onto his sleeping bag, and let his tired body relax. A satisfied smile appeared on his face, and Sam answered with a fake smile of his own to hide his inner turmoil, which looked like a turbulent sea reverberating on the walls of his mind.

He turned his head away from John's and took a deep breath to hold back the tears that threatened to fall from his eyes. He squeezed his eyelids tightly shut and forced himself to relax, ignoring the other boy's movements behind him. A touch on his shoulder nearly made him jump while a hoarse voice called:

"Sam?" Sam laid still, feigning sleep, and after a few seconds without response, John gave up trying and turned to sleep. When the blond's slow breathing reached his ears, Sam opened his eyes with a snap, looking with his dark irises to the tent walls for a long time while listening to the hiss of the wind outside, rustling the leaves, and he promised himself that this would be the last time, the last time he would play this losing game. And it was with this thought that the young man finally fell asleep.

 


	2. Chapter 1

 

 

The headaches started soon after an attack they suffered in a small town in the middle of Mississippi. Because, as usual, the Mogadorians had suddenly appeared, out of nowhere, and opened fire on the three teenagers. Sam, for the umpteenth time, wished that one of John’s or Six's legacies was clairvoyance. But he knew it was a useless wish. John had awoken his last legacy, several weeks ago, when he had started to have complex and long conversations with Bernie Kosar, and Six's Garde had told her once that each Lorien had three legacies. And frankly, the two Loriens he was traveling with had the most useless legacies of all if they couldn’t warn them away from those damn Mogs. And Sam wasn't asking much, just a spider sense or something like that. But anyway, changing the subject. The Mogadorians simply sprung from the floor and opened fire on them, and then, in what was becoming some kind of a routine, in the middle of the attack, Sam was caught by surprise and thrown against a wall.

So far nothing new, nor was the brand new injury on his head, or being rescued by John, or even Six's complaints saying, for the umpteenth time, that he was slowing them down in their mission. John defended him, of course, as the good friend he was, but in the end he was quieted in the face of Six's arguments because the Lorien knew that ultimately the blond warrior girl was right. Sam just sighed and kept himself out of the cross-fire that usually happened between the two aliens, and took refuge inside their tent, huddling in his sleeping bag.

Minutes later he realized that the voices from outside had stopped and then a frustrated John entered the tent with agitated movements. Sam closed his eyes, feigning sleep, because he knew what would happen if the Lorien saw he was still awake. They had just come from a battle, and barely escaped with their lives, again, and he knew that the same adrenaline rush that was running through his body, was running twice as strong through John's. But their ritual of spending it would not be completed tonight. First, because the young man's head was throbbing intensely, second, because he had promised himself he would stop doing this. It wasn’t gaining them anything. It wasn’t gaining _him_ anything.

“Sam?” The boy felt strong fingers touch his shoulder and he forced himself to relax, giving more emphasis to his pretense. “Sam? Are you sleeping?” For someone who had an IQ above any average human, John sure asked a lot of obvious and stupid questions. Sam wanted to close his fingers tightly around the fabric of the sleeping bag, but he knew that such a move would alert the blond that he was actually awake.

A sigh made him realize that the Lorien had given up trying to start something tonight, and had taken refuge in his own sleeping bag, falling asleep within minutes, if the soft snore coming from the other side of the tent was any indication. Sam snapped his eyes open, fixating his brown orbs on the tent and frowned. His body was still charged with too much adrenaline to just relax and his head ached horribly. Minutes of silence passed by and in the end the only option left to Sam was to close his eyes try to fall asleep.

That was two weeks ago. Both, the attempt of a good night's sleep that would not come, as well as the constant headache, had not changed. The boy lost count of how many pills he had swallowed dry, taken between one stop and another during their journey, and he knew that every time he threw one into his mouth, he received a suspicious look from John.

It was funny how the Lorien noticed the little details, like the dark circles marking the skin under his eyes, the fatigue that made Sam's movements become sluggish, and how often he would take naps at certain times during their trip. But the obvious--the fact that Sam's heart ached every time Four came back, glowing with happiness, after a brief conversation at a pay phone with Sarah, and when the Lorien just couldn’t control himself as he described all the qualities of the beautiful woman he left in Paradise, breaking Sam's heart little by little--that John was incapable of noticing.

“Maybe we should see a doctor.” John's voice cut short Sam's reverie. He looked away from the countryside, passing by in a blur through the window, and turned to the blond.

“What?”

“The wound on your head is almost healed, but not the effects of the blow. Maybe you should-”

“John...” The boy sighed. He was not willing to have this conversation again. Shortly after his injury, the Lorien suggested that they should go to a doctor, get professional help. The cut, apparently, had been deep, starting right close to Sam’s hairline and ending just above his left eyebrow. It had taken the brunet half an hour to completely stop the bleeding. Six had protested vehemently and complained, once again, about how Sam was being such a nuisance, and it had started another argument between her and Four that had only ended when the young human lost his patience, ordered the two of them to shut up, and taken refuge in the tent.

After that he was under John's constant supervision. Each small groan that he let out because of the pain, every frown, was a reason for the Lorien to glance at him with a worried expression. Sam turned back to look out the window, which was an indication to the Garde that the conversation ended here. Silence followed after that and only Bernie's mild snoring, while sleeping on the seat between the two teenagers, interrupted the quiet.

Six, who was driving in front of the truck, on her motorcycle, glanced over her left shoulder to the car behind her, and lifted both her eyebrows. Even from this distance she could feel the tension emanating from the two young men in the car and even though she wasn’t Sam's number one fan, she had to confess sometimes she felt sorry for him. If she was Four and she had to choose, she would have chosen the young brunet who could fight against a mog without fear, even if he didn’t have superpowers, over the girl who was in a small city waiting for her prince charming to return.

She had nothing against Sarah, Six barely known her, but if Sarah really loved Four she would have insisted on staying by his side. At least that's what Six envisioned in real relationship. And even if on the outside it seemed like she didn't give a damn about those things, she was still a Lorien, hardened by life and losses, but still a Lorien, and like all of her kind she was bound to find her life partner sooner or later. And if those two guys really believed that they were being discrete in their sordid little affair, they were mistaken. Four sometimes tended to forget that the superhuman abilities he had, Six also had, and that meant being able to hear a pin dropping in the distance.

However, the woman had not heard anything compromising coming from the tent of her fellow travelers lately, and Sam seemed more and more depressed each day even though Four was incapable of realizing that. Four was too blind to realize that what had begun as just a game between two friends turned out to be something more. At least, for Sam, it had become something more. Six shook her head, dissolving those thoughts. It wasn't her drama or problem to be solved, it was theirs. And at the moment she preferred focusing on finding Five instead of witnessing the lost puppy looks Sam was giving Four.

Her keen eyesight spotted a truck stop in the distance and a with purring engine she accelerated the bike, listening for the truck engine’s echo of that sound so she knew that Four had increased his speed and was following her closely. Minutes later they entered the parking lot of a small dinner, close to a gas station, with two self-service pumps. Six got off of the bike and went to a pump while Sam did the same with the other. John let Bernie out of the car to run into the woods behind the dinner to do his business.

“Stops in the middle of the day? It isn't your nature.” John said with a puzzled expression.

“I'm hungry.” Six shrugged, she was not a person who usually justified her actions, but today, oddly enough, she was in a reasonable mood. “And the _girls_ seemed to need a break.” She sneered, looking from Four to Sam. Sam tensed at Six's innuendo and clutched the gas pump tighter in his hand. Six’s expression made it seem like she knew everything that was going on between John and Sam and he didn't doubt that it was probably the truth.

How wonderful, the boy thought with disgust, everyone knew about his problem, maybe even Bernie Kosar knew about it, everyone except Four. The pump whistled indicating that the tank was full and Sam sighed, ending his unhappy thoughts. He returned the gas pump to its support and closed the lid of the fuel tank with a snap. The sound made a sharp pain reverberate in his head and he blinked rapidly to sweep away the tears of pain that came to his eyes.

“Sam?” John's long fingers on his shoulder made a shiver run down his spine and he could almost feel its warmth through the fabric of his jacket. Sam took a deep breath in a vain attempt to regain control, but before he was successful, the same fingers pressed harder on his shoulders and made him turn to face John.

“I still think we should...” Sam knew that if he rolled his eyes his headache would get worse, and John's proximity, with his hot breath touching Sam's face and his blue eyes boring through Sam, trying to reveal all the young human secrets, was not helping the chills running through his body. Chills that Sam had now identified as being chills of pleasure. It had been such a long time since Sam had had the Lorien close enough and it seemed like his whole body was screaming in relief because of that one simple touch and yet, at the same time, craving for more.

“Let's go eat before Six throws a tantrum.” Sam walked away with one quick movement, turning his back on John, and with hurried footsteps, he went into the dinner. He had almost lost control and done what his heart, mind and body had been craving for days: to have the Garde's passionate touches all over him again. But Sam had made a promise to himself, that he would break this vicious cycle, and he would keep his oath, at any cost, even if it was the last thing he did.

  



	3. Chapter 2

  


It took all of two weeks for Sam’s self-control to go down the drain before he saw himself again at the mercy of John’s wishes. Another city, another attack, another near-death experience, was enough to put an end to his oath. Four had been injured, one of his arms cut from elbow to shoulder. Six now bore a cut lip, a bruise on her left cheek, and a limp in her right leg. Sam had another headache, a bruised chest, and a sprained wrist. This time, unlike the others, the three teenagers dismissed the idea of tents and decided to seek the comfort of a soft bed and a hot shower from the nearest motel.

Once they received the keys, Six disappeared inside her room, taking Bernie Kosar with her. John followed Sam with the first aid box, which had become more and more stuffed with supplies as time went by, under his arm. The first thing they tested was the shower, and both thanked the heavens for this small blessing as the warm jet soothed their sore muscles. After they bathed it was time to assess the damage the Mogadorians had left on their bodies.

John’s fingertips gently touched Sam’s forehead and Sam stepped sharply back. He didn’t want to feel John’s fingers against his skin. He was afraid because he didn’t know what would happen after so much time without the Lorien’s touch.

“There’s a bruise here.” The blond frowned. It was the second blow to the head the young man had taken in such a short time. John knew that the human skull was tough, but still, suffering this much abuse so frequently would leave its marks. One of them, it seemed, was a frequent headache that Sam insisted on dealing with by taking progressively larger doses of aspirin.

“I'm fine.” The boy retreated another step as John tried to touch him again. All Sam’s resolutions were running away with the alien standing stripped to the waist in front of him. And when Goode saw him this way, he couldn’t help but think that Sarah was the perfect match for the Lorien. John, with all his muscles, athletic figure, imposing size, and firm expression paired with an intense look, needed a young woman with delicate features and nymph-like beauty. He did not fit at all with the young geek, addicted to Xbox, and fascinated by alien conspiracy theories, even if these had been proven true the moment Four and Six had appeared in Paradise.

“Well?” Four stepped back, his gaze still fixed on Sam’s frown. Despite what Six thought, despite her cryptic sarcastic comments, he was not totally stupid, he could tell that something had changed. That something had changed in Sam. Before, the conversation between them had flowed naturally and it made the journey a little more enjoyable and the road a little less long. Now, all that existed was a huge silence filling the space between them grew more and more with each day.

“That’s a real nasty cut.” Sam promptly changed the subject, collecting gauze and antiseptic from the first aid box and extending it to the Lorien. John's eyebrows only arched in amusement.

“How do you expect me to do this?” John joked. The wound started at his elbow and extended along the back of the blonde's arm until his shoulder blade. Even just cleaning it would involve a basic level of contortion.

“You’re flexible, you can do it.” Sam tried to joke back, but the words that came out of his mouth had such a double meaning that he blushed.

“Sam...” John said in a exasperated tone. Lately it was not only the conversations that stopped between them, but it seemed that Sam refused any contact, physical contact specially, coming from him.

“Turn back”

“What?”

“The wound is on your back. So... turn.” The Lorien obeyed while the other teenager sighed softly. At least with John’s back turned to Sam, he didn’t have to meet the other boy’s intense blue eyes.

With trembling anxious fingers Sam raised the cotton that was dipped in the antiseptic and gently applied it on the cut, feeling John’s muscles tightening under his fingertips because of the sting. Sam retreated quickly, as if he had received a shock, and bit his lower lip hard, bruising it. He would not be able to do it, as silly as it was. Any proximity to John after all this time seemed to make his whole body vibrate and Sam didn’t know why.

“You better do this.” Sam stepped back, but before he could get away completely, John had turned and closed his fingers on Sam’s wrist, pulling him with enough strength to make the boy trip and fall against the Lorien’s broad chest.

“Sam...” The name whispered against his lips made the young man hold his breath while his eyes looked into John’s clear blue ones that seemed to get darker with every second Sam remained against the Lorien’s body. And Goode knew what was happening, it was the ritual that he had tried and failed to stop, if his beating heart and John’s irregular breathing against his face were any indication. It was the adrenaline still pulsing in their bodies waking again the repressed desire to give in to John because of one single touch.

And Sam realized that he had broken his own promise when he saw himself on the mattress with his clothes being quickly stripped from his body. John’s touches were like feathers covering every inch of his exposed skin while the Lorien's lips traced a path of fire along Sam's body, causing electrical shocks where the blonde’s fingers touched and left Sam feeling like he was floating, leaving the young man without any will to escape. Sighs and groans filled the room and Sam tensed when he felt the familiar burning sensation caused by the sudden penetration, followed seconds later by a wave of pleasure every time John hit the right spot inside his body.

Sam crossed his legs around John’s back, hugged John to him with his arms wrapped around John’s shoulders, and let the Lorien guide the pace, following the alien with every thrust that made him forget his injuries, the headache, and just concentrate on the good feeling that filled him completely. And only in the last thrust, when Sam let out a groan of pleasure, followed seconds later by John’s own climax, did the brunet realize how much he had missed that and how he wanted to break down in tears for allowing this vicious cycle begin again.

 

**oOo**

Six realized that things were more tense than normal the moment Four and Sam set foot outside of the room the next morning. Goode passed by her as if he was fleeing a mog and took refuge in the truck’s driver seat. John walked to the service counter to check out of their room while Six went to her bike, having paid her own bill half an hour ago. She watched, out of the corner of her eyes, the interaction between the two. Four, as usual, was oblivious to the obvious, while Sam clutched the steering wheel, as if it were a lifeline, and glanced at Six with an expression that clearly said that he knew that she knew what happened last night, but would appreciate it if she would just kept her comments to herself.

The woman shrugged, putting on her sunglasses, and crossing her arms over the bike’s tank, waiting quietly for Four, who joined them minutes later, slamming the door on the passenger’s side upon entering the car. Sam turned the key in the truck’s ignition and quickly started it, wanting to end Six’s intimidating stare. Soon the shiny red bike left the motel parking lot and took to the road, followed closely by the truck whose only passengers were in absolute silence.

“Sam...” John opened his mouth to say something, but changed his mind quickly. As for Sam, something last night was different, absurdly different, but he couldn’t tell what. His skin still tingled because of the touches and he could almost feel the blond's warmth wanting to invade his body.

“How was the talk with Sarah last night?” The sudden change of subject and the mention of Sarah made the Lorien tense. Sam tightened his fingers against the steering wheel, keeping his eyes on the road ahead, specifically on Six, as if by keeping his focus on her, he could stop himself from drowning in the storm of thoughts and emotions that were running through his mind and body.

“You know...” John began, but stopped quickly, shrugging. “It was good.” And said nothing more after that. Sam glanced at the blond next to him and raised both his eyebrows. Last night, half an hour after their meeting moved by hormones, John had left the room, thinking that the human teenager was asleep. He returned half an hour later with a small smile on his face. Sam didn't have to be a clairvoyant to know what happened. The Lorien, of course, had used the pay phone by the roadside, near the motel parking lot entrance, to kill the longing he was feeling for the loved he left in Paradise. And with this the urge to cry from earlier that Sam had repressed returned with vengeance.

“You know...” The young man took a deep breath while he changed the gear and accelerated the truck a little to follow Six's bike’s rhythm. “I think we should stop this.”

“Stop what?” John asked with a confused expression.

“You know what.” Sam answered and the Lorien let out an upset sigh. The blond couldn’t disagree with his friend that what they did, what they are doing, wasn’t right. John had made a promise to come back to Sarah and he felt guilty for not being completely faithful to her. The first time the two boys had slept together they had both been so charged up by adrenalin from the most recent battle and the fact that they had a primitive desire to touch each other, in a way beyond how friends usually touch, hadn’t seemed strange. It seemed practically natural. After that it became a routine to release their frustration and excess of energy that way.

So, obviously, John felt guilty. Guilty for using Sam, even if the brunet was using him back. Guilty about betraying Sarah, at least in body, because his heart remained true to her. The problem was that he couldn’t help it. Sam attracted him like a magnet. And each time that John promised himself he would resist the young man, he ended up falling into temptation again that night, when the expressive brown eyes looked up at him.

“Maybe you're right.”

“Maybe? I'm always right” Sam said in a clipped tone. “Besides being morally wrong...” Sam's mind slapped him with a cry of hypocrisy. “You have Sarah. As accepting as she is, I don’t think she’ll understand this.”

“Again, you're right.”

“Like I said, I'm always right.” Sam tried to joke, but it was difficult to do it while his heart was being shattered into a thousand pieces, shard by shard accumulating in the pit of his stomach, which turned over with every word that left his mouth. Ending everything was hopefully the first step to recovery and he hoped that being honest with John would strengthen the alien's self-control. Because, after what happened last night, Sam knew that his own control was already in tatters, as was the rest of his soul.


	4. Chapter 3

For some inexplicable reason, but perfectly obvious to Six, Four didn't tolerate Five. And, frankly, he had a right to not to. Five had created an immense fascination for Sam, something that was bordering obsession since they met in New York. And it was, literally, an explosive meeting, almost a copy of the meeting between Four and Six.

Five was more slippery than a wet soap and, therefore, to find him was being more than a difficulty, was becoming a challenge. So it was with surprise that when they were trapped in Brooklyn during a rainy night in a battle that he appeared. The mogs, as always, had emerged out of nowhere and advanced with guns blazing up on the trio. Sam was the first to fall when he was thrown away by a Mogadorian, going against the hard wall of an old build. John held his breath when he saw the boy sliding against the bricks blackened by the time and falling onto the wet ground only to be, a few seconds later, erected by the neck by the same mog who attacked him. Terrified by the prospect, John used his telekinesis to send the mog advancing on him away, turning on his heels to run to rescue Sam, and would be successful if another Mogadorian had not been placed in front of him. 

The blood boiled in the blond Lorien's veins while he watched over the mog's shoulder Sam struggling to loosen up the other mog's grip and getting redder because of the shortness breath and effort. So when the Mogadorian brought Sam's face closer to his deformed face, raised with his other hand a small plasma gun and pressed it against the boy's temple, John could swear that his heart stopped completely. Sam only reaction before this death threat was to take a deep breath of what air he could because of the grip on his neck and glare to the mog, because if he was going to die, he would do it facing his tormentor in the eyes. And from where this stupid flare of courage had come from he didn't know and Sam had to confess that while he was glaring at the ugly Mogadorian, inside his head he was praying for a miracle and if the same doesn't happen, at least for John to keep his promise to find Sam's father

The gun buzzed close to Sam's ear and the boy could already feel the heat of the laser against his skin, knowing that if by any miracle he happened to escape, that he would have as a souvenir a burned mark on the forehead. In the distance he could hear a cry and he recognized it as John's voice and for a moment regretted for not telling him the truth, for have not said to him that the brotherly affection that he felt became something more after they started that dangerous little game of theirs. And it was with these thoughts that at the last second all the courage that he had seized before disappeared from his body and barely able to contain himself, Sam closed his eyes tightly, preparing for the worst, and waited. And waited. 

Waited until the suffocating grip on his throat was gone, along with a bang that made his ears ring and a cloud of dust that had fallen on his person all at the same time, making him go to the ground with a _plop_ onlyto be washed after this by the rain that was drenching the city.

Slowly he opened his eyes, frowning when he saw that there was no horrendous mog with baring tooth, marks on his face and black eyes snarling at him. Who was there, in fact, was another creature completely opposite to the one that was hanging Sam by the neck seconds earlier. There was a guy across the street, maybe seventeen, eighteen years old, with an incredibly black hair that seemed impossible to get darker with the water that soaked it, but it got, with eyes that were so blue that reminded Sam the same blue that was the color of the lightning bolts crossing the sky and with facial features that it was a cross between a young man in his late teens and his early adulthood. He wore black from top to bottom, starting from his All Star, following by worn jeans and ending in the sweatshirt, with all those dark colors contrasting immensely with the pale skin. In his hands he carried a heavy rifle, which greatly resembled the guns used by the mogs and with a sudden movement he had thrown it over his left shoulder and started walking towards Sam who gazed with wide eyes and bated breath the mysterious guy approaching him. 

Within seconds the stranger got near enough to support himself in one knee on the wet pavement, looking with absurdly clear eyes to the boy in front of him. Sam dropped slightly, frightened at the approach, and a cry got stuck in his throat when he saw one Mogadorian sneak behind the guy with the gun ready to hit him. However, before the mog could put his finger on the trigger, he disappeared in a pile of ashes. The boy with the black hair gave a half-smiled and looked with the corner of his eyes to Six that was down the street and had been the one that shot the mog. John turned into powder the last Mogadorian that was attacking them and ran to Sam, pushing with a shoulder the human boy's savior away and put himself in front of the teenager, clutching his arms.

“Are you okay?” The desperate tone and concern in Four's voice brought Sam's attention briefly to the Lorien, but it dispersed again when the black haired guy grunted under his breath and moved John by the same way the other Lorien moved him earlier, putting himself in front of Sam again, stretching a hand toward the boy's head who remained paralyzed as a statue when he felt cold fingers because of the rain touching his temple. And then a nice heat began on Sam's forehead, gradually going down through his neck, shoulders, back, chest, legs until his feet, relaxing tense muscles and relieving the boy's throbbing pains here and there where it passed by, calling Sam's attention to the existence of injuries that went beyond the burn on his temple and the nearly crushed larynx. Only when the finger was moved away that Sam opened his eyes, hadn't either realized that he closed it, to see John with a dark expression on his face and Six with arched eyebrows.

“Let me guess.” The woman began while putting the gun back into the holster on her waist. “You are number Five.” The aforementioned laughed and rose in a leap of the wet ground, offering a hand to Sam that looked at it for several seconds before accepting it and be raised with a tug.

“Brand new, right?” Five's voice was soft, like a lullaby used to calm even the most restless child, and Sam suddenly felt more relaxed after listening to it. 

“Interesting that of legacy yours.” Six said, going to the mog's who attacked Sam weapon and gathering it immediately. “What other tricks do you have up your sleeve?”

“I don't know, what else do you have?” Five asked to Six with a charming smile that make the woman roll her eyes

“I can put your bony ass on fire.” Threatened the blond female Lorien and the other laughed.

“I can predict you putting my perfect ass, by the way, on fire on before you think to do it.”

“Clairvoyance?” Six further testified what she asked when Five only nodded in agreement. “And cure. What is the third?” The boy put his index finger on his lips and winked at her.

“It's a secret.” Then gave a short amused laugh that surprised Sam. 

He spend enough time with Loriens to know that they are a very difficult people. Four had explained once that his race had their emotions in a higher intensity than human beings, but it seemed that the two Loriens were incapable to show that. They were always serious, specially Six, and to matured for someone so young. Okay, maybe John had let out a laugh here and there, but it was not the same carefree laugh he just heard coming out from Five, and this was shocking. So Sam thought that all Loriens were like that. Obviously he was wrong,

Five, so far, didn't appear to be the kind of person who had to flee from his home planet as a child, carry on his shoulders the responsibility to save said planet and that in all the time he is on Earth had to spend his life fleeing from mogs or hiding from them. Not if the smile he had and the amused twinkle in his electric blue eyes were any indication. 

“Well, anyway.” Five shrugged “I'm Zac.” and extended a hand to Six that only looked long to it and ignored it, as was customary for the woman. “And you?”

“Jane Doe.” Six replied with the same thing that she said to Sam when they met and the boy chuckled. Zac's blue eyes went to the boy and a wide white-toothed grin appeared on his face. In the blink of an eye he found himself next to Sam and put an arm over the teenager's shoulders, bringing Sam closer to his larger body.

“And you my wonderful warrior who was fighting bravely against those ugly mogs...”

“And losing.” Sam interrupted, but Zac ignored him.

“What's your name?”

“Sam.”

“Sam! The Brave!” And what came to Sam's mind was that the Lorien was insane. It was completely surreal. And more surreal was the fact that Five was still chattering about Sam's bravery, how it was exceptional what he did for a simple man, and was completely unaware of John's existence and the fact that the blond Lorien was glaring at him.

“Could you stop the scene?” Six said after Zac finished to report in a poetic tone his testimony of the battle that took place recently. “We better be going. Since we find who we wanted to find, we should leave.”

“My car is around the corner and my apartment is on the other side of the town, well away from the crime scene. Come!” Five called, with his arm still around Sam's shoulders, and pulling him to the car direction himself. And it was at this point that John decided to put his foot down, holding Sam's wrist with a iron grip and pulling the boy back against his body.

“Sorry, but I think Sam will follow with us.” The Lorien almost growled through clenched teeth and Five blinked intensely as if he couldn't understand why in a moment he had Sam in his embrace and the next moment the boy was gone.

“But I wish to have the Samuel's lovely company with me.” Is this guy mocking me? That's what Sam thought upon hearing Zac's whining tone. They only met each other twenty minutes ago, so it wasn't enough time for Five to create such an attachment to his person. “And I believe he will not be averse to go with me, huh?” Zac winked in Sam's direction who made a confused expression and then gave a glance over his shoulder to John behind him. Calmly, the boy got out of the Lorien's grip and walked toward Five.

“I'll go with him.” He said and heard, for the first time, Six let out a brief laugh. Sam looked with confusion on his face at her but she only shrugged. Six had to confess that despite his blatant way, she was beginning to like Five attitudes, even more now that he had put his arm again on Sam's shoulder and guided him to his car. John, on the other hand, was fuming while looking to the aforementioned arm wishing to the same to rot and fall of Zac's body.

“We better get moving. I don't know how to predict the future like Miss Joy there and therefore I can not guess where he lives. If we lose sight of him probably he will abduct Sam forev...” Six didn't have time to finish her speech because Four had already crossed the street, going into the truck, turning on the engine and speeding out at the same second that Bernie Kosar rushed forward, only to have time to throw itself in the trunk before it was left behind. With this, seeing such obvious demonstration on Four's part that he was being ate by jealousy, Six had to laugh. Apparently things would get even more interesting from now on, and she was eager to see the circus be consumed by fire.


	5. Chapter 4

Five glanced at Sam sat beside him in the old corvette that his Cepan and he used to travel the country while fleeing mogs. The boy had not said a word since Zac started the the car's engine and pulled it into the little busy streets, what was a rarety in New York.

“So?” Zac began making the tires sing when he turned around a corner and almost losing control of the car for a few seconds. Sam hadn't spoken even against the crash that they missed by an inch, just looked at the few pedestrians who passed by as a blur through the car window and then returned his gaze to Five. “Aren't you more relieved, if only for a few minutes, to be away from Four?” Brown eyes went slightly wide and the boy sank further in the leather seat. “Third legacy.” Zac smiled slyly. “Empathy.” And winked at him.

Sam chuckled, feeling stupidly nervous and relieved at the same time and unable to avoid the tears that started rolling from his eyes. Within seconds, the laughter turned into sobs and soon the young man hid his face in his palms while his whole body was shaking because of the crying that he held for so long. Zac remained silent, letting the boy relieve everything through the tears, all the pain he was feeling, because by experience he knew it was better to release the emotions now through tears than let everything explode later in angry words that will make both parts regret it. And Five knew from the moment he put his eyes on Sam that the boy had a chest full of repressed emotions closed and locked for too long inside him. A locked chest that begged to be opened.

Five looked at the mirror and the truck that followed close behind, and behind it was Six in her shiny red bike fighting against the raindrops every meter walked. Sam looked back at the tears still in his hand and sighed.

“How about going to a more private place ?” Five spoke at the same moment that the traffic light of a crossing which they were approaching turned red. Zac smirked and sank his foot on the clutch, shifting the gait in a fast movement and after that stepping on the gas pedal, accelerating the car and narrowly missed hitting the others cars coming in the opposite direction. He saw by rearview that Four tried to follow them but had to stop because of a garbage truck that was coming in the other lane and blocked his view. He took the chance provided by this small gap and turned the first corner that appeared, leaving behind two Gardes who now were cursing all the generations of Five's family.

Sam turned on the seat in the minute that Zac accelerated the car, looking surprised to the truck and the bike that disappeared from their sight. Quickly the boy turned to look with large eyes the Lorien who had made another sharp turn with the car and seemed extremely focused on the road that stretched before them.

“Where are we going?” Sam asked in an alarmed tone and with rosy cheeks marked by the tears from earlier. Five only gave one glance at him before turning another corner and another and finally, ten minutes after a mad trip through New York, they parked in front of a block of old buildings. “Six and John...”

“Will find the way, don't worry.” Zac turned off the car engine but didn't make any move indicating that he would get out of the vehicle soon. “So? How do you feel?” The Lorien asked after a minute or two of silence and Sam took a deep breath, relaxing a little bit. He had to remember that Zac was one of the heroes, though it seems to have a screw loose in his head, and that his legacy made him understand a person faster than normal. After all, in the moment that he laid his eyes on Sam, the Garde must have seen the boy's past, present and future and all his conflicting emotions about John.

“Better.”

“Hmm...” Was the only answer gave by Five who stayed in silence for some time until he said: “I was surprised to see that even having chosen one, Four still kept that kind of relationship with you.” Was the lack of subtle a legacy too? Or a gift? Because if it was, Five was capable to be so insensitive as Six. “I mean, Loriens are monogamous. Once we found our partners we are loyal to them by body and soul.” And like Six, Five also knew how to poke the wound with hot iron

“You think I don't know that?” Sam replied sourly.

“Do you?” Zac bowed his head slightly to the side while looking at Sam with his intense blue eyes. “What do you really know about Loriens?” Sam opened his mouth to reply, but then quickly closed it. About Loriens in general he could admitted that he didn't know much. After all, not all Loriens were Gardes with special powers and with a destiny already defined by some great power that be. And what Sam really knew he learned from observations of the only two specimens that he known. And he had the feeling that even Six and Four didn't have a complete knowledge of their own specie. They fled the planet as children, were raised on Earth and had to adapt in ways to make them look like an ordinary human, so the few lessons they had before they left Lorien were probably forgotten.

“And what do you know about Loriens?” Sam countered Five's question with a smug tone and Zac gave a half smile to him, poking the tip of his index finger to the boy's forehead.

“A lot. One of my legacies remember?” Five closed his eyes, inhaling deeply, only to reopen them a few seconds later to look at Sam directly in the boy's eyes. “Lorien is one of the eighteen habitable planets in the universe, including Earth and Mogadore.” Sam was surprised by this information. He always knew that they were not alone in the universe, but never thought he would ever have an answer to confirm that all the theories around the world were valid. “Lorien, also, in many aspects is very similar to Earth, perhaps what set us apart is the size, the flora and the fauna, but the predominant population is basically the same. Researchers say that our evolutionary roots, the roots between Loriens and earthlings, perhaps are the same.”

Okay, now it was getting surreal. This meant that humans had lost cousins somewhere at thousands of light years?

“Just as the Earth is suffering today by excessive growth of its population and the impact that man has on nature, Lorien has done suffered this thousands of years ago. Therefore, when we realize that the planet was dying, we decided to take action and thus gradually brought the planet back to life. And we were rewarded. How? Evolutionarily. The Garde race was born with powers to ensure that the balance was kept and the Cepan, the guardians, were created to protect and train the Gardes.”

“And the reason are you telling me this is for what? To tell me that Loriens are the mirror of what will become the human race when I finally stop to be selfish and treat the nature with more respect?”

“Basically... Yes” Zac smiled when he realized that Sam was quickly picking up his story.

“Okay, and what this has to do with my relationship with John?”

“Everything! We evolved spiritually, physically and especially emotionally. We have power, intelligence and superior strength and a long life expectancy above the average human. But mostly, a great capacity for compassion and love. When we love is for life and only once.” The tears that had ceased before were returning gradually to Sam's eyes.

“And?” The boy sobbed. Five didn't need to tell him that what John and he were doing was wrong, especially to Sarah. Sam always knew that their relationship wouldn't last and he didn't need to be warned of the obvious.

“Sam...” Zac fidgeted on the car seat and leaned on it with one knee, leaning slowly over the boy. “I think it would be better for you to forget Four, permanently”

“What?” The boy startled when Five's long fingers closed on his wrist.

“Just forget him... Or I will make you forget.” And before Sam could say anything Zac's lips were on his, kissing him sharply while his larger body and covered Sam completely, pressing him against the car''s door.

“Zac ... Stop it.” Sam gasped when the Lorien gave him a small break for air, trying with his free hand to push the Garde away from him. But as said earlier, Loriens were much more evolved than humans, including their physical force. “Zac... Plea...” He tried again, but was silenced when Zac dove for his lips again, almost bruising it.

A chill ran down Sam's body, far from being like the pleasure chills caused by John' kisses and terror began to seize the boy. He could not get rid of Five who was pressing him even more against the car door, kissing him against his will while the Lorien's icy fingers began to go to forbidden parts of Sam's body. Sam began to struggle, trying, unsuccessfully, to get rid of the Lorien above him, but in vain. The boy's heart pounding in his chest seemed to want to flee from it and with his mind in despair he only managed a scream:

“STOP!” Just when Zac's hands went to the buttons of his jeans.

And then everything stopped. Literally stopped. Sam no longer felt Five's lips moving against his, although the weight of his body was still there, as he also didn't feel the Lorien's hands in his pants making any other gesture. Stunned, he moved his head slightly to see what had just happened only to witness a frozen Lorien as if someone had pressed the pause button, while Zac's bright blue eyes were looking at him showing a glint of surprise in them. Horrified with a so bizarre scene, Sam struggled wildly, managing with the help of his arms and legs to push the Garde away and stumbled out of the car.

The sudden movement seemed to take Zac out of his catatonic state and as fast as he could he got out of the car and walked around it, finding an extremely scared teenager who gazed at Five with wide eyes and pale face. Five just smiled and didn't give anymore steps towards Sam to not to shock the boy even more and only crossed his arms over his chest and leaned with his hip against the Corvette's hood.

“What...” Sam stammered and Zac laughed.

“I told you Loriens are the evolved version of humans, didn't I?”

“Yes, but...” Sam gasped, fearing where this conversation was leading them.

“So, in theory, the Earth will one day end up suffering the same fate as Lorien if things continue this way. And, in theory, humans will become aware of their mistakes and will evolve in the same way, right?”

“Yes?” Sam took a step back, now more confused than scared.

“Well... I Just forgot to add a small factor in this theory. Apparently, getting involved with a Garde accelerates the process.”

“What?”

“Hundreds of years from now some descendant yours would be destined to be a Garde. However, our coming to Earth and your involvement with Four changed some things.” Sam could swear that when heard that that his heart did stop beating for a second. “We'll need nine Gardes to save Lorien. Three of us died, six are being hunted and, apparently, was created.” Zac looked at the boy intently and Sam felt dizzy when he realized what the Lorien's words implied.

“This is ridiculous...”

“Loriens love only once in his life Samuel, because they are emotionally evolved for this.”

“You mean...”

“That the same happened to you.”

“So if I...” - Sam's body started to tremble and soon his legs became weak enough to make him fall on his knees on the floor, close his fingers into a fist against the cold cement of the sidewalk and feel for the third time that day the tears returning to his eyes. “I'm doomed... And screwed.” He sobbed and Zac knelt in front of the boy, putting a hand on Sam's shoulder offering some kind of comfort. 

“I wouldn't be so pragmatic.” Five said at the same moment that an engine roared along the street and suddenly a truck parked on the sidewalk. A steaming John got out of the vehicle, slamming the door hard, and before Five could say anything, his body was thrown against a tree trunk.

“What did you do to him?” Four barked when he saw Sam sitting on the wet floor and in tears.

“What did I do?” Zac managed to utter even with Jonh's telekinesis crushing him like a huge iron fist against the tree. “You should ask yourself Four, what you did to him.” And with that said Five left his empath power flow, passing to the other Garde all the conflicting emotions that Sam was feeling recently. John only had time to gasp before the anguish, despair, love and pain struck him like a punch in his guts, making him wobble and lose control of his powers, freeing Five immediately. John's blue eyes became moist and all the fight left his body, making him go to the cold ground and the only thing he was able to mutter with his voice heavy with guilt was:

“By Lorien, what have I done?”


	6. Chapter 5

 “We must move.” Will, Zac's Cepan, said after a minute of tense silence. When the boy said to him that morning that he had to go out and hastily left the apartment, he didn't think it was to fight against some Mogs and in the process bring home two other Gardes and a human who just became one. Yes, Will was aware of the story, they all were. Zac made sure to tell in details what he discovered soon after he had to carry a Sam still in tears into the building, followed closely by a Four with an anguished expression and Six who didn't know if she felt sorry for the two idiots for the mess that they put themselves in, or beat them to a bloody pulp so they would learn to never again worry her in that way. “Together the spell that the elders placed on you'll be broken. Separated you will be safe.”

“We can't run forever.” Six argued, while it seemed that Sam had retreated into a shell, 'cause he was across the room curled up on the window ledge watching the rain fall through it with a miserable expression on his face. Four said nothing since they arrived in the apartment but occasionally he would cast a look like the look of a lost puppy to the another teenager direction, but was reluctant to approach him to say anything. “Besides, we have a secret weapon”. The woman pointed a finger to Sam and Zac shook his head in a negative gesture.

“Are you sure? Sam is human, born and raised on Earth. Therefore, his Garde's nature is connected with the Earth's nature. His job is to protect this planet, not ours.” Five explained and Six uttered a frustrated snort.

“Not necessarily.” Will scratched his chin in a thoughtful gesture. “The Garde blood in him was awakened by another Garde.” He said and when John heard that he wished to be able to disappear among the sofa cushions, immersed in his own guilt for what he did to Sam. He still could feel Sam's emotions because Zac's little trick from earlier and he new that his human friend was hurt and confused for everything that was happening in his life right now. Confused that same way that Jonh was.

He loved Sarah, really loved her, but at the same time he didn't know what he felt about Sam and could not deny that the bond between them was different. His body was taken by rage every time he sees the young human in danger, a rage that makes him blind to everything and want to destroy the world if something happen to the boy. His skin tingled at Sam's touch, as if the boy was an addiction which he could not, and neither wanted to drop. And when Zac told the story of how he discovered that the young man was a Garde, telling in details the part where he kissed Sam to see if he already had some legacy awakened, Four wanted to tear off the Garde's head. A action that he now could admit was motivated by jealousy. 

“Young Samuel suffered a sudden mutation caused by external influence, he reached a stage of evolution that the human race will achieve only in a hundred, perhaps thousands of years to come. He was not born like this, so I don't know what kind of side effects will be presented. We can not count on him as some help in this war.” Will explained to Six the reason why they couldn't count with Sam in this battle, giving a glance to said boy still at the window. Zac sighed, going to his guardian and grabbing him by the arm, leading him to another room in the house to have a private conversation with the older man. With a glance over his shoulder, Five gave Six a nod, indicating that she was to follow him, and with a glare to Four he said without words that was for the other Garde to remain in the live room.

Four sighed, returning to sit on the couch and after a minute in one position, he ventured a look to Sam who still was shrunk on the window ledge while hugging his knees against his chest. John's heart sank when he saw how miserable the boy look and he felt worse when he remembered that Sam's pain was his fault. Closing his hands into a fist and gathering all his courage, John rose from the couch and cautiously approached the young man.

“Sam…”

“No.”

“But I…”

“I don't wanna talk about it.” Sam said with a sour tone and John shook his head in a negative. They needed to talk about it because he knew, thanks to Zac, how much all that situation was killing Sam inside.

“Why didn't you tell me?” John decided to be outspoken and Sam let out an ironic laugh, turning to look at the Garde with his brown eyes still red because of the tears from earlier. John's heart sank again when saw the pain mirrored on Sam's face.

“You've got to be kidding! At what point would I say this? When we were fighting with a mog, or while we fled from some beast from Mogadore...” At every word said, Sam's voice rose an octave when he realized that he finally was able to let go all the repressed feelings that were pulsing inside him for months. “Or when you moaned Sarah's name while _fucking me_!” It was like a slap in Jonh's face that made him take a step back in alarm when he saw how much anger was emanating from the other teenager.

“I'm sorry...” Four reached out to touch him but Sam moved away, hissing to him like a frightened cat.

“Don't touch me!” He growled through clenched teeth. “I knew our relationship, when it crossed the line of friendship, would not end well. I just didn't think that it would come to this point.” 

“I...” Four ran his hand trough his messy hair in a nervous gesture. “I confess that I am partly to blame, I should have resisted more, fought harder, but each time that I was close to you something seemed to attract me like a magnet. I don't know if what I felt was because I missed Sarah…”

“Could you please not to mention her name?” The young man hissed. “It's enough for me to know that I will live the rest of my life in misery, I don't want to have to add guilt to my condemnation.”

“It was not my intention…”

“Of course not. I was the stupid one to fall in love with you. But I blame you for turning me into this!” Sam let out the angry accusation and John recoiled as if he had taken his second slap in the evening. He did not need to have Zac's empathy to know that everything was falling apart, if not already had. That his friendship with Sam was being destroyed bit by bit with each word of absolute truth that was charging out of the boy's mouth.

“I never thought…”

“That was the problem: not thinking! Not think got us into this mess and now I'm the only one paying the price.” Sam's voice trailed off gradually until it was swallowed by a hiccup and the boy returned to his previous position against the window, hugging his knees to his chest.

John turned away, knowing that the conversation ended there. There was nothing more to be said, nothing more to be done. Their friendship was destroyed and certainly with no chance of recovery and now they'll have to live with it until the end of their days. John with the guilt of having ruined Sam's life and Sam with the knowledge that his life was ruined. Four returned to the couch, sitting on it with a miserable posture and under the tense silence that was in the room until one hour later, Six, Five and Will returned with their belongings in travel bags.

“Time to go.” Will said while destroying little by little all the evidence of their existence in that apartment, making John to remember Henri paranoid personality, which made him even more depressed. “Zac views of the future are not good and Sam's new condition suggests that a chain reaction is about to happen.”

“How?” Four looked at Zac with concern while Will's words brought Sam back from his depressive mood. 

“The mogs don't want to kill us only to eliminate any chance of us returning to Lorien to retake the planet.” Six explained.

“They also want to make Earth as their colony.” Sam completed and John couldn't help to remember a Halloween party in Paradise, a memory that seemed so distant, and a conversation between Sam and Henri while the two played the silly game of compare absurd conspiracy theories about alien invasions until Sam innocently let out a theory about the Mogadorians planning to invade Earth with the intention to take over the planet as their own, as they did with others.

“Yes Sam, and what else?” Five smiled at the boy and saw John make a displeased expression because of the attention the other Lorien was giving to the human boy. “Remember what I talked about the history of Lorien? Or why we have evolved?

“The spirits of nature compensated the Loriens for their efforts to rebuild the planet?” Sam said as a student unsure of his theories while answering the teacher's question.

“Yes, and what else?” Sam gave Five a disbelieving snort.

“What do you mean? That anticipating the Mogadorians' invasion, the Earth, our mother nature, decided to speed up the process and create Gardes like was done in Lorien? I thought that Gardes are a reward for good services that were provided to the community, something that we humans still didn't achieve.”

“Yes, but you forgot one thing. You even mentioned Earth's mother nature as a living thing, an entity with intelligence.” Zac explained and Sam still didn't understand. He was never the "peace and love" kind of guy, love nature above everything or something like that, but lately he was starting to become one. With everything that happened, such philosophy was becoming very appealing in his eyes. “And any living creature has a survival instinct. The Earth doesn't want to be destroyed by the mogs, because that is what they will do: invade, use its resources until it runs out and go looking for a new planet. And humans are slowly learning the lesson they need to take care of their home. So, the planet is putting together business with pleasure and rewarding earlier than planned those efforts and creating these little warriors to protect it.”

“Zac predicted that soon new earthlings Gardes will arise and we need to look for them, train them. If we can at least weaken the mogs while they are still here on Earth we have chances to save Lorien.” Will said when he finally eliminated the last vestige of their existence in that house. “Therefore, Four and Six will look for the other Loriens. Sam, Five and I will look for the new Gardes.”

“Hey! Wait a minute!” Four rose abruptly from the sofa. “Sam is with us, he is part of our team!”

“Not anymore, Four.” Six cut any protest that John was about to make and he looked at her with flames of fury in his eyes. The girl never was Sam's biggest fan and certainly this was the perfect opportunity she found to get rid of him. “Samuel is a Garde, one that needs a Cepan, something that we are not. You had time to receive some training from your Cepan, I had a full training from mine and the mogs must not know about this. Five's clairvoyance will keep this secret safe. We need to separate.”

“But...” Four tried to protest, but it was Sam who gave the final blow, the who that took John's breath away.

“ I'll go with Zac and Will.” Said the young man, looking fixedly at John. “They are right. I must learn to deal with what lie ahead. And... I _need_ to get away from you.” It was as if a dagger had pierced John's heart when he heard these words and the Lorien realized that he couldn't do nothing else but accept the others' decision. He had been defeated by the majority and Sam made it clear that he didn't want to be in his presence anymore.

And so with their feelings in tatters that both, Sam and John, went separate ways, on different missions but with the same goals, without any prediction if one day they would see each other again. 

If one day they would be, at least, friends again.

  
  


  
  



End file.
